Half a day soon went by and finally, Zhen Zhu also opened his eyes. He wanted to rub them but soon noticed that he had somehow shifted forms in his sleep and didn’t have hands anymore. He lay there in a daze for a moment and then gave up on his original intention, instead raising his head and looking around. Finally, he noticed his husband’s gaze on him. Blinking his phoenix eyes, Zhen Zhu shook his body, slipping out of Zhu Hong’s grasp, and jumped down from his chest and to the other side of the bed. He changed back into his other form and then turned to his husband, looking at his handsome face for a moment as well.
Zhu Hong’s smile brightened under the gaze of his spouse and he reached out to take his hand. "Did you sleep well?"
Zhen Zhu nodded, still not saying anything for a moment. Then, he lay back down, pulling his pillow a little closer to Zhu Hong. "Did you wake up a long time ago?"
Zhu Hong continued to smile and shook his head. "Not that long ago." Actually, it had already been several hours but he didn’t want Zhen Zhu to feel awkward.
The little phoenix gave a hum and looked back at him, once again falling silent.
Zhu Hong didn’t rush him. In any case, this was their first full day as a married couple. It was the first time that Zhen Zhu woke up next to him. He should give him a bit of time to get accustomed to the idea, just like he had had time before Zhen Zhu woke up.
The little phoenix’s thoughts actually weren’t that complicated. From the moment he saw Zhu Hong for the first time, he had known that this was the man he would spend his life with. And he had also felt that he was the person that he wanted to spend his life with. Maybe this was just how the phoenixes were but he felt happy just looking at him. Being able to wake up on his chest and then being able to look at him for some time, he was more than happy. Just imagining that every day from now on would be like this, he didn’t know what to do with all the happiness. Finally, Zhen Zhu craned his neck and kissed Zhu Hong’s cheek. "Good morning, husband."
Zhu Hong chuckled and turned to the side, pulling Zhen Zhu back into his arms. "Good morning to you as well."
Zhen Zhu chuckled and then closed his eyes again, nuzzling Zhu Hong’s chest with his face. After a moment, he looked back up, his eyes sparkling brightly. "What are we going to do now? Are there any other things to do after getting married yesterday?"
Zhu Hong shook his head. "Nothing official for the next few days. After that, we will return to the forest for a visit. For today, I would like to show you around the valley of the dragon clan for a bit and introduce you to a couple of people. We won’t be able to look at everything yet but I want you to have a first impression."
Zhen Zhu nodded. He had to find out more about the place where Zhu Hong had lived for his whole life. In any case, from now on, this was his home as well. It would be good if he could get used to it fast.
Thinking about it, it was actually quite good that he hadn’t grown up in the forest of the phoenix clan. This way, there was no pain from parting with that place. Instead, he could immediately get to know this place and accept it as it was. Was there really a better thing that could’ve happened to him? He doubted it.
Being excited, Zhen Zhu immediately sat up, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and got up. Looking at his robe that was lying to the side, he wasn’t quite sure if he could just wear it again. In any case, that was the robe for their wedding.
Zhu Hong leaned over and wrapped an arm around his waist, motioning over to a chest at the side of the room with the other hand. "The clothes I prepared for you are in there. You can choose whatever you like to wear. Save for a few festivals, there isn’t really anything that requires you to be dressed a certain way."
Zhen Zhu nodded and rushed over, opening the chest curiously. While looking through the clothes inside, he couldn’t help but question further. "Then how do I know which are the ones for the festivals?"
"Don’t worry. They weren’t made yet. The next festival is still several months away so nothing for you to worry about yet. I will have the appropriate clothes made in the next few weeks. In any case, it is a bit difficult to prepare everything for you without knowing your size. So I wanted to wait with it for a while. Because of that, there are only a couple of robes for now. I will have more made after you decide on what you like. They can all be according to your wishes." While he explained, he got dressed as well and then turned around, noticing that Zhen Zhu still hadn’t managed to put on any clothes.
He laughed faintly and then went over, crouching down next to him. "Have you found anything yet?"
Zhen Zhu looked up at his husband, not quite sure what to say. "They are all very pretty." To be honest, he felt that Zhu Hong had prepared much better than he would’ve expected considering the short amount of time that he had been given. There were only five or six robes but considering that he had only had a week, that was already quite a lot.
The most surprising thing was that all of them looked as if they had been tailor-made for him. There was an apricot-colored robe with some white embroidery, that looked a bit like a mirror image of his wedding robe with the colors being inverted, a white robe with a part that had been dyed apricot, and then another few robes that were in a different color but still incorporated the two from his egg like a lilac robe with white embroidery and an apricot-colored belt, or a mint green robe with apricot-colored leaves embroidered from the hem up to where a white belt would go around his waist.
Clearly, a lot of thought had been put into these. Zhu Hong hadn’t chosen the easy way out and just borrowed robes from others who didn’t need them for their spouses anymore. From the memories of his clan, Zhen Zhu knew that this was something that was actually often done.
Since the dragons didn’t know beforehand whether their spouse would be male or female, big or small, thin or thick, they could only prepare something for all eventualities. The robes that were needed were practically useless afterward so they would often be given to other members of the clan either for the spouses they already had or to the ones to who were still waiting to welcome their own. Sometimes, people would also keep their robes and then give them to their children, allowing them to use them for their future spouse.
To have a husband like Zhu Hong who would actually prepare robes specifically for his own spouse was a rare occurrence. It meant that they were paying special attention to their spouse and usually signified that the marriage would be an especially good one.
Thinking of the things that Zhen Zhu remembered, he couldn’t help but lower his head to hide the sweet smile on his lips. He didn’t know how he would explain to Zhu Hong if he saw it. In any case, he was just very happy. There weren’t enough words to describe what he was feeling.
Zhen Zhu finally picked a mint green robe, feeling that it might be better to take something that didn’t look as much like his wedding robe. In any case, today was a new day. There should be something to signify that.
Putting the robe on, Zhen Zhu turned in a circle once before he stopped to face Zhu Hong. "What do you say?"
Zhu Hong looked him up and down, then slowly nodded. "You’re very beautiful."
Zhen Zhu smiled brightly and then stepped closer, grabbing his husband’s hand. "Husband, I remember you promised yesterday that you would always do my hair for me. Dos that still count today?"
Zhu Hong laughed and already pulled him over to the dressing table in the corner. "If I already forgot about that or reneged on my promise the next day, I wouldn’t be a worthy husband. Come on, sit down. Tell me what you want and I’ll do my best to make it possible." It wasn’t like he had a lot of experience doing something like this but he was willing to give it his best try for the sake of Zhen Zhu.
The little phoenix sat down and turned to his head to all sides, looking at himself in the mirror. "Make it a bit taller. Then I won’t look too small."
Zhu Hong raised his brows but still started to do what Zhen Zhu had said. "Are you unhappy about being small?"
Zhen Zhu pursed his lips. "When I saw you, I originally wanted to look a bit more like you. Being tall would have been good. Now, I’m so much shorter than you. I don’t know how that happened."
Zhu Hong felt a faint thread of anxiety in his heart, thinking once again that maybe something had gone wrong with Zhen Zhu. He really needed to ask Elder Bi about it later on. For now, the most important thing was to calm his husband though. "To be honest, I think it is quite nice to have a spouse that is a bit different from you.
"If you are very similar, it certainly does have some advantages but if you differ, you can make up for each other’s shortcomings. Whether that be your height or your personality or anything else. Things that I can’t do, you might be able to do. And things you can’t do, I may be better suited to doing them. So I think we should celebrate our differences.
"Also, with how small you are, you fit very snugly into my arms. I don’t think that’s a bad thing." He bent down and kissed Zhen Zhu’s cheek before he pulled back with satisfaction after he saw that the little phoenix was already smiling again. Clearly, his dissatisfaction with his own height wasn’t that deep-seated.
Soon enough, Zhen Zhu’s hair had been done, and he got up excitedly, grabbing Zhu Hong’s arm. "Alright, then I’m ready. We can go."
Zhu Hong nodded and pulled him out of the house, intending to bring him over to Elder Bi’s house first. Before he had the chance though, they were already greeted by a group of nosy neighbors.
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